When you think of seafood destinations, Springfield, Missouri, does not exactly leap to mind. Yet, based on the locals' appetite for crab legs, you would think this Ozark town was a wellspring of crustaceans. If you're ever in southern Missouri and feel the urge to suck the juice out of as many knuckles and claws as you can lay hands on, one of these establishments may be able to satisfy your yen.

Hemingway's Blue Water Cafe

Located hundreds of miles from any ocean, Hemingway's Blue Water Cafe (restaurants.basspro.com), is inside Springfield's Bass Pro Shops store. A crab lover may be disoriented walking past displays of freshwater tackle and mannequins wearing lure-encrusted hats. You'll start to feel better, however, as you walk into the restaurant with its 30,000-gallon saltwater aquarium and catch a whiff of something buttery and familiar as you peruse the menu: crab legs and lots of them. Hemingway's offers a Monday through Saturday dinner buffet that you can upgrade to include all the crab legs you can eat. You can garnish your steamed seafood with other land-based foods such as carved roast beef, ribs and a selection of vegetables.

Great Wall Chinese Super Buffet

If you like your seafood with Asian accompaniments, try the Great Wall Chinese Super Buffet (no website; 3130 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield; 417-889-8388). The Great Wall is just a mild-mannered Chinese buffet during the week, but on Friday and Saturday nights, it becomes truly "super" when they start piling crab legs onto the buffet line. The crab legs' special has no effect on the price; it remains the same as it is every other night.

New China Buffet

Another crab leg weekender, the New China Buffet (no website; 2734 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield; 417-883-9581) adds crab legs to its buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. For true seafood aficionados, the restaurant also offers several seafood specialty dishes, including a seafood combination with crab and lobster meat, Hunan shrimp, green jade scallops and Lake Tung Ting shrimp. Prime your palate for the crab legs with a fresh spring roll or even a fried crab stick.

Other Options

Two chain buffets, Ryan's Grill Buffet and Bakery (ryans.com) and Golden Corral (goldencorral.com), have Springfield locations and occasionally offer crab legs as a specialty item on their buffets. A better bet, perhaps, would be to head half an hour south to the Ozark entertainment capital, Branson, and belly up to one of its seafood buffets. Both Starvin' Marvin's (stravinmarvins.net) and Whipper Snappers Seafood Buffet (no website; 2421 West Hwy. 76, Branson; 417-334-3282) offer all-you-can-eat crab legs.

About the Author

Trent Jonas accepted his first assignment in 1988 from "The Minnesota Daily" and has been writing professionally ever since, primarily as a copywriter. He is an experienced traveler with a background in advertising, entrepreneurship and as an attorney. Jonas has a Bachelor of Arts in English writing from the University of Minnesota and a Juris Doctor from Hamline University.

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